Oculus (Oculus #1)

by J. L. Mac

“You got it.”

  I end the call and sit on my bed wondering how I’ll convince my father to give his blessing for me to go to work for Chief Ingram. In truth, I don’t need his blessing or permission at all. I’m a grown woman. I can do what I want but I’m well aware that living under his roof comes with certain ramifications and one of those is keeping him informed on what I’m up to. If I could live on my own, I would, but again… red versus purple.

  When I find my father, he’s in the kitchen rummaging for food. “…rations low—just—bull— more resources,” he mumbles to himself, making no sense whatsoever.

  “I have news,” I spit out, eager to get the conversation over with.

  “Oh? It couldn’t have anything to do with you talking to Chief Ingram today, could it?” His tone is admonishing and haughty enough to make me bite back the urge to snap back at him.

  “As a matter of fact it has everything to do with that.” I try my best not to let his foreknowledge set me off kilter, which is no small feat.

  “What’s your news then, Iris?”

  “Chief Ingram has been generous enough to see if he can find a suitable job for me in the security department. I’m not entirely sure what I could do bu—”

  “Absolutely not.” The finality in his voice is shocking, infuriating.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “No, Iris.”

  “No?”

  “That’s right. No. I won’t have my only daughter working anywhere near that piece of work. He’s no good, Iris and he doesn’t just do things out of the kindness of his heart. He’s corrupt. Everyone knows it.”

  “No?” I sputter, feeling an onslaught on emotions ranging from anger to sadness to helplessness to recklessness.

  “I was thinking we could make barley and beef stew for dinner but the rations are low with eleven more days until Procurement Day—”

  “Stop! To hell with dinner!” I shout, causing my own ears to ring in protest. “You seem to be under the impression that I was asking for your permission.”

  “Iris,” he warns.

  “No. Don’t.”

  “Just calm down and we can discuss this if that’s what you want.”

  “That’s exactly what I wanted. Now? Discussion is closed. I’m taking the job if Ingram offers one and you can just deal with it. I’m not a child, dad!”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Iris.”

  “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I don’t require you to think for me. I can’t see but I do have a brain. I’m going out with Hattie tonight.”

  “Iris!” I hear him shout as I make my escape into the cool night air.

  “Shush!” Hattie’s boyfriend, Cade, shuffles us along insisting that we keep quiet. Hattie and I walk as a single unit as we always do when I’m unfamiliar with the layout of where I am. It’s quiet out tonight. I couldn’t hear anyone nearby only the distant buzz of the rail system. Our footfalls on the concrete under us are the only footsteps I can hear. I’m entirely certain but I sense that this is a good thing.

  “But where is this hangout?”

  “You’ll see,” he says quietly just before bringing us to a halt. “I have to put this on you. It’s for your own good.”

  “What is tha—wait a second! I’m not letting you blindfold me!” Hattie protests, her body stiffening beside me. I can’t help the snort that escapes me.

  “Welcome to my world. Don’t worry. I’m experienced,” I joke, leaning closer to her to whisper.

  “I have to blindfold you. I don’t want you knowing how to get to the spot. Just in case.”

  “In case what?” I can hear the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric as Hattie huffs, clearly unhappy with what Cade is doing but resigned to the fact that she’s going to go along with him anyway. So am I. I’m feeling rebellious and determined to distract myself from thinking too much about my father or Ingram or the bleak future that being blind has forced upon me.

  Hattie’s grip tightens around my arm and for a moment I wonder what she must feel like walking in my shoes for the time being. I can only imagine that it must be unnerving being rendered suddenly blind, in the dark of night and headed to some secret destination.

  The air is crisp and cool by comparison to the heat of the summer that we just survived. The sun retires earlier in the day now hinting at the promise of burgeoning fall. Seasons are never very distinguishable here, especially for me, but the receding heat of summer means cooler days are on the way.

  We shuffle along thirty-six more comfortable paces before Cade halts us once again.

  “Okay. You wanted to know where I go when I disappear. You accused me of seeing someone else but now you’ll know the truth. Neither one of you can speak of this to anyone. Anyone! Ever. You’d be putting others at risk so promise me you’ll say nothing.”

  “Cade,” Hattie warns, clearly uncomfortable with where this night is going.

  “I promise,” I whisper before really thinking about it. Hattie groans quietly.

  “Okay. I promise.”

  “Stay close. Keep quiet. Walk lightly,” he orders then guides us forward. “Step down,” he says helping both of us down a flight of stairs and then into what feels like a corridor. The acoustics make it seem like we are standing in some sort of passageway.

  He silently guides us further into the corridor. I stick out my hand and allow my fingers to lightly brush against a wall. It’s concrete, cool and damp to the touch. For the first time since I stormed out on my father, I’m beginning to regret my sudden rebellion.

  Muffled voices become clearer with each step we take, steps that I count. We walk for some time before we slow, pass through an opening, and climb down the rungs of a ladder.

  Silence descends. Open fire crackles. The scent of the charred wood floats around me as the fire’s radiant heat warms my clammy hands.

  “They’re with me. I’m responsible for them. She’s blind and her blindfold is staying on.”

  I can feel Hattie tense at Cade’s declaration but she makes no movement that would contradict what he’s just said to the audience I can’t see but know we have.

  Cade escorts us further forward. The fire grows warmer, the smoke thicker. He grasps my shoulder and pushes lightly, depositing both of us onto some type of metal bench.

  “The Free Thought Librarians have now come to order,” Cade announces from somewhere in front of us.

  I’m not sure whose gasp was louder, mine or Hattie’s. Her charming boyfriend has just walked us right into a death sentence.

  “I look around at these books, I read these books and I wonder why The Corporation is so intent on making them illegal? The answer to that, my friends, is that Fenra and Talpa and all the rest of The Corps that handle us like they’re zoo keepers, want to keep us in the dark!”

  The assembly of people around us let out a collective sound of approval, nudging Cade to go on but all I can think is that what we are doing is grounds for imprisonment, exile or death.

  “They may keep The Resistance in The Dark Lands but they’re keeping us in the dark too!” Cade exclaims falling into a frenzied rhetoric. He’s quite the speaker and it’s obvious that he feels strongly about The Corps’ death grip on anyone and everyone within their walls.

  His audience lets out another encouraging throng of sighs and grunts. It’s difficult to tell for certain but there has to be at least fifteen, maybe twenty people around us. Maybe more.

  “Human beings were not designed to live this way. We were not designed to live with our hands bound behind our backs and that’s exactly what Fenra is doing to all of us! The Resistance is fighting for equality and liberty amongst all men and so are we! We will not be deterred. We will not back down. We will not give up!”

  “Oh my god,” Hattie murmurs from beside me. She begins to shake. Or maybe I’m the one shaking. Or maybe we’re both trembling. Either way, I hug her arm closer to my side, silently comforting her.

  “What right do they have to enslave? What righ
t do they have to tell people when and if they’re authorized to have a child? What right do they have to scan or to ration everything? Food, drink, electricity, shelter…” He speaks with vigor and the more he says the more enraptured I become. Cade is saying what I haven’t quite realized I have always been thinking. How many more have been thinking the same things?

  “What right do they have to forbid books from the old world? They don’t have that right but you know why they forbid the books and the old films and the old music? Because it would give hope! Well you know what I say to that? Outlaw my books, burn the old films and the music. I don’t care because my hope comes from within! And yours does too!”

  “Stop this!” Hattie cries in vain against the subdued cheers of Cade’s audience. “This is pointless! The Corp is the only reason we all have a home! Fenra is the only reason we aren’t out there in the wilderness facing… whatever’s out there!”

  “What’s out there is freedom! Freedom to make our own way. To hunt, to build, to grow, to live! Don’t you see that Fenra and all the other corporate compounds are just a prison?”

  “Oh! Prison? Prison? Just being here makes all of you—me a criminal! We should leave,” Hattie implores, urging me to stand. “We’re leaving. How do we get back?” She grows more frantic by the minute. I hear a soft plop against the floor. She took off her blindfold so she can lead us away from the meeting.

  “Jesus, Cade! What are you doing?” Hattie whispers pleadingly at her boyfriend. Everyone else falls completely silent as tension grows around us.

  “I’m helping us. All of us.”

  “No. You aren’t. You’re getting every single person in this room killed or at the very least, exiled to prison camps or Dark Lands.”

  “She’s going to report us!” someone accuses in a gruff voice.

  “And how exactly would I be able to do that without incriminating myself, genius? No, I’m not saying a word. This night never happened and I pray that the rest of you come to your senses and stop trying to bite the hand that feeds all of us! Come on,” I’m tugged forward and it takes me a moment to recall the mental map I created when we walked along with Cade. I just need to find the ladder then I’ll know exactly how to get out. It’s just a matter of counting.

  “Hattie!” Cade calls as we make our way back into the concrete-walled passage, but he makes no attempt to follow us.

  “I would rather he be banging someone else in his spare time!” Hattie grits out as we start back.

  An involuntary laugh bubbles out of me despite the situation. There’s nothing else I can say or do. She’s right. An affair like she had suspected would have been far better than what he’s doing. Cheating on your girlfriend of four months usually ends with a heated argument and perhaps some tears, maybe even a bad reputation, but treason usually ends with a bullet taking up residence somewhere in your skull.

  “Maybe it’s just harmless talk. They aren’t doing or planning anything. It didn’t sound like it anyway. Cade really is a great guy, Hattie.”

  “Doesn’t matter. If Corp Security finds out about these meetings he’s hosting, they’ll round up anyone and everyone involved. I may be accused for simply dating him!”

  “Hey. Don’t panic. I’ll be working in security. I’ll keep an ear out. You’re fine.” With that, my decision to sell myself to the devil himself is solidified. I’ll have to take Chief Ingram up on his offer. I’ll be protecting my best friend and securing myself a little independence. My palm drifts back and forth across Hattie’s shoulder blades soothingly like my father used to when I was little. “We’re going to be just fine,” I whisper, wondering if it’s her that I’m trying to convince or myself.

  "He found himself understanding the wearisomeness of this life, where every path was an improvisation and a considerable part of one’s waking life was spent watching one’s feet." - Lord of the Flies by William Golding

  I NEVER REALLY APPRECIATED HOW good I had it back when Anna was alive. For years, we had a great system in place. She would negotiate with the Resistance for jobs, and I would take out the targets. We had to move fairly regularly, but we had a pretty comfortable life. A life filled with stable work, decent food, passable shelter and plenty of books to read. The loss of that simpler existence is something I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on since her death.

  Most of my waking hours are spent working or trying to find a decent place to sleep. It has become a lot harder as The Corps has really stepped up their security sweeps. Even in the remote, undeveloped areas between The Corps I have to cross over patrols. The Corp activity is my own fault. I have been taking almost every job I can get from The Resistance. Some of them are days apart, but running gives me time to unwind and plan my next move.

  The Resistance has been overjoyed that I’m willing to accept almost any work they choose to offer me. My rates have become obscene, Anna would be proud, but they seem more than willing to pay. In the last few weeks I have done more to further their cause than I have in the last six months.

  Two mid-level managers for Penar Corp won’t have the opportunity to skim rations from their sectors any longer. The new managers received the severed hands of their predecessors on the first day of work. Nothing says ‘watch your ass’ like having someone leave body parts on your work desk while you’re at your two-martini lunch.

  I made worm food out of several security people from random corps, chosen for a laundry list of abuses to the people of their areas. Additionally, I eliminated a lot of low-hanging fruit that The Corps depended on to keep the lights on. The only requirement I had was that the people I took out were single. I didn’t want to take the chance of another kid ending up as collateral damage.

  Things finally came to a head when I terminated a Senior Manager for Ventac. I set up the perfect ‘accident’. The slime was going to tragically meet his end inside his own bio-weapons lab. Unfortunately, I let my emotions get the best of me, and stopped to taunt the bastard. It was the kind of thing Anna would have been furious about, but her being gone is the reason I’ve been so off balance. Or maybe I’m losing my mind.

  At least I’m still able to put my skills to good use. During my infiltrations of the various corps, I had managed to collect some interesting information. Since each of the corps had used the same process of infecting people with drones, it only made sense that they would have gotten the virus from the same place.

  I stumbled across a file that showed the source of the drone virus was Ventac. I decided to give the Resistance a freebie. An interesting tidbit I found in my target’s personnel file was a severe allergic reaction to the base of the antidote. After that, it only made sense to use his own weapon on him. Yet, the best of plans disintegrate on the field of battle. Once I was facing the bastard, panicking inside the glass walls of his company’s lab, I lost control.

  “How does it feel?” The concentrated dose of the virus I had released into the air had no effect on me. His skin had already gone a horrible gray, and his breathing was labored.

  “Who are you? Why would you do this?” His bloodshot eyes twitched back and forth as he gaped at me. Trembling hands reached out and knotted into my clothing. “Why would you kill us both?” Smiling, I ripped his hands off me and knocked him on his ass.

  “I’m immune, asshole. You on the other hand? You are about to experience your little bug in all its painful, throat closing, glory. My only regret is that I can’t draw this out. You deserve to die this way a few thousand times.” I stayed to watch him twitch out his last breath. As the light fled his eyes the expression of puzzlement on his face did nothing but enrage me.

  The power feed I had sabotaged was found earlier than I had expected and they started fixing it. When the lights flickered I knew I had lingered too long. Pulling my mask up over my face I raced out of the facility, but not before a camera managed to catch a glimpse of me. Senior Manager Robert Gentry had died at the hands of his pet project, but I had revealed myself in the process.

  Now,
I’m being hunted. Or rather, the corps is trying to crack down on The Resistance. They just haven’t realized that all of the enemy operatives that they’re looking for are, really only me. During the day, I hide in the woods as soldiers search the wilderness for the Resistance cells The Corp assumes are responsible for the recent mayhem. Not that they would not gladly shoot me, if they could find me. At night, I run in the last direction I figure anyone will expect a Resistance agent to go, back towards Fenra Corp in Sector 36. Somehow, that choice of direction just feels right. As it turns out, the closer I get to Fenra, the fewer patrols I run into. Once I’m a day out from their borders, the woods are deserted.

  I’m often amazed at how quickly people are willing to let down their guard. It’s almost as if they believe since something bad already happened, it would be unlikely for it to happen again. The desire to get things back to normal as soon as possible often blinds people to the dangers they still face. While I have no problem exploiting this peculiar bit of human behavior, it makes me sad. It’s no wonder that the world is such a mess when people would rather sleep in than fight for their own freedom. When they will let others abuse them as long as they get to take a warm shower every morning.

  I reach the Fenra compound, dodging the few patrols they have outside the perimeter. The ten foot high, plain gray concrete walls are deceptively mundane. From experience, I know that sensors and cameras line the wall. The upper level has a five foot wide walkway that is regularly patrolled by security. From above, a security team could lay down a shredding cross fire that would leave me dead in seconds.

  While the perimeter is fairly secure, it is easy enough to find a way through. Patrols move on schedules. Cameras have blind spots. They haven’t bothered to change anything that I can see since my last visit. I take the time to verify that, before slipping inside the compound. The interior has a few guard posts with stairs leading up atop the wall, but avoiding the patrols inside the walls is even easier. Once out into the compound itself, I find several places to hide. A few are comfortable and well positioned, precisely the place where an enterprising young man can hang his hat.